Software developers use application development environments (ADEs) to write code defining the visual appearance and behavior of an application under development. As an example, a developer of an application, such as an Adobe® Flash® or Adobe® AIR® application, may use an ADE that allows the developer to place media components (e.g., images, movieclips, etc.) on a stage and define a desired visual arrangement of the components, along with changes in the composition and/or position of the components as the application executes.
The goal in using the ADE is to generate suitable code so that when the application is executed or interpreted, the media components are rendered and behave as desired in response to input events and other conditions. For example, a scripting language (such as ActionScript®) can be used to define code that causes the application to take an action, such as jumping to a visual arrangement labeled as a frame, in response to an event. The action may be associated with one of the media elements. For instance, the developer may position an element, such as a button, on the stage and then associate an event handler with the button by writing procedural code that defines one or more operations (e.g., a change in the appearance of the button or the scene) in response to a pointer clicking, hovering, or otherwise interacting with the button.
As another example, the code can define data variables. For example, a text entry box may be associated with a variable representing the content text entered in the box. Additionally or alternatively, the content of the box may be bound to a variable defined elsewhere.